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Mr. Marquis’s Marvelous Stuffing

Two years ago, I was having Thanksgiving in DC with some friends. One of these friends called me up before the event and proclaimed that he had perfected stuffing. I was skeptical, but this friend was a very good cook and an engineer so if someone could perfect stuffing, I figured it might as well be him.

He brought me this.

I now make this stuffing every year for Thanksgiving and sometimes in February for my birthday. It is that good. It has everything I look for in a stuffing: Nice bread, awesome meatiness, tons of spices, and some fruit and other good stuff. Oh. And lots of butter.

Ironically, one thing I have never done with this stuffing is actually stuffed it inside anything (say, a turkey). It is always just so beautiful in the pan that I prefer to make it this way. I don’t see why you couldn’t stuff it, but I don’t.

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cube up all your bread and bake for 15-20 minutes. You want these cubes pretty toasty. Keep an eye on them though.

2) Meanwhile, cook sausage and onion in a large skillet over medium heat until sausage is browned and cooked through.

3) Chop up aromatics listed above. When sausage is cooked, add aromatics to your sausage mixture and cook for just 3 minutes to combine.

4) IN a huge bowl, toss together all the ingredients except stock and butter. Once it’s well combined, start adding stock until the mixture is very moist but not soggy at all.

5) Pour out stuffing onto a few 9×13 baking dishes and drizzle butter over the stuffing. Bake until the stuffing for 30 minutes covered and then 30 minutes uncovered, stirring ever 15 minutes. It should be browned on top and cooked through. It’ll still have some liquid in it but be not soggy. Don’t be afraid to let it bake a little longer if it seems too soggy.

Serve while warm with traditional Thanksgiving stuff!

So basically, you make the recipe in the exact order above. First thing, cube up all your bread and stick it in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. You want these cubes pretty toasty. Keep an eye on them though – burnt bread stuffing is not what we are making.

Half store bought, half homemade.

Meanwhile, take your sausage and onion and start it up in a large skillet. As you can see from my photo, steam will be a by-product. What you can’t see from this photo is that this steam smells like heaven.

Simple, but delicious.

While that is simmering away, chop up your aromatics listed above and get them ready. You can do this in advance if you want, but I like to multi-task. If you are following my timeline, CHECK ON YOUR BREAD NOW.

Thanksgiving in a bowl.

Then add your aromatics to your sausage mixture and cook for just 3 minutes to combine. Photographing steam was my project for the day.

I could just eat this with a spoon.

CHECK YOUR BREAD AGAIN. It is probably about done. Now you can chop up all of your other stuff which is basically just apples and parsley.

The fruit part of the show.

Now get the biggest bowl you have. You might have to do this in two batches if you make the actual recipe. Keep in mind that my version here is halved. Anyway, put your bread in a bowl.

If you are an observant Macheesmo reader, you will know I only have one bowl.

Then add that amazing sausage mixture that has been simmering away.

Action shot!

Then add your fruits and parsley.

Now we are talking.

Finally, add your stock and melted butter. The bread should be very moist, but you don’t want any liquid left. All of the liquid should be absorbed. If you add to much, don’t worry about it, just add on another 15 minutes or so to the cooking time. Spread it out in a 9 by 13 baking pan. If you are making a full batch of this stuff, you will want two or need to make it in two batches.

Ready for the oven.

Bake this at 350 degrees, covered for 30 minutes, and then uncovered for 30 minutes. Stir this stuff every 15 minutes. As I said, if after an hour the bread is still too moist, just cook for another 15. I actually had to add on 15 minutes to this batch.

This is seriously the best stuffing I’ve ever had.

So that’s it. While I would love it if you passed this post on to others, I also understand if you want to horde it so you can forever impress your friends, family, and lover(s) with it. And if you are Mr. Marquis, then I apologize, because I just posted your perfect recipe on the Internets.

22 comments on “Mr. Marquis’s Marvelous Stuffing”

Totally! I think it would work fantastic with cornbread. Might need to adjust the stock amounts a bit. I would think that you would need less stock if you are using cornbread, but again that probably varies. Good idea!

Well I am lucky enough to have had the Marquis version two Thanksgivings ago, the Nick version last Thanksgiving and now from Sofia, Bulgaria I will be making the Karolinka version: meat free with veggie stock and loaded up on walnuts and dried plums and apricots. Wish me luck!

p.s. the only thing is – I had to bake it for an extra hour, and by that time, I had all this burned stuff around the perimeter, and extra time in the oven just increased the width of this burned perimeter. meanwhile – the stuffing was still too moist! i tried spreading it out thin and such. luckily – it still tastes good overly moist. any hints?

@ A.G. You should definitely try it with Veggie stock. I think it would still be fantastic. But if you do try it you will start wanting stuffing again on holidays!

@ Susie: I'm glad you liked it! The trick to avoid the burned edges and get an even texture throughout is to be sure to stir it every 10 or 15 minutes. It is a bit of extra work, but totally worth it. And yes, sometimes I have to cook it for longer than an hour. I think the variables for cooking time are type of bread, how toasted the bread gets, and how much stock you use.

As long as you keep stirring you will get an even, perfectly moist (yet crispy) stuffing.

Hi, this looks wonderful! I’m a vegetarian and would like suggestions on how to substitute for the meat. Also, did you use sandwich bread for the wheat and white? Or did you use a loaf from the french bread area of the grocery? I have your book too, and I am now making perfect baked potatoes every time, so thank you for all of your recipes and tips!

Hey Cindy, I think you could sub mushrooms for the sausage. Just saute a pound or two and fold it into the mix. I used sandwich bread for both types of bread, but you can use any bread really.
Glad you like the book!

just made this today. I hate stuffing, every year i just dread making it. but this is awesome!!!! the smell after you add the thr aromatics is unbelievable. it was one of my favorite dishes by far this year.this will be in our family for years. thanks so much for sharing this. it is amazing!!

I made this for Thanksgiving this year for the first time. I followed the recipe to the T. It was a big hit, it was absolutely delicious. I just had a request for making it again for Christmas. I think this is our stuffing

I made this for Thanksgiving this year for the first time. I followed the recipe to the T. It was a big hit, it was absolutely delicious. I just had a request for making it again for Christmas. I think this is our stuffing from now on. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

This is without a doubt the best stuffing of all time.
We host huge Thanksgiving meals every year and for 4 years now we’ve made this recipe.
Thank you!
Nothing compares. Everyone loves it.
It’s a recipe that my children and their children will ask for.
A total classic.

I’ve been making this stuffing for 7 years and everyone who tries it LOVES it. I forgot to add the apples the first year and cranberries are difficult to get find in Kenya but it was such a huge hit despite that so I’ve continued to make it without. Best stuffing I’ve EVER had!!!

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